Here's Why You Should Stop Dieting ASAP

Here’s Why You Should Dieting ASAP

By Shante Grossett

A few years ago, I was in a pretty unhealthy place. I was tired all the time, my skin was breaking out, and even worse, I was gaining weight rapidly. Literally, I’d step on the scale every other morning and find a pound was added to my overall weight. For a while, I thought my scale must have been broken. Then, I ended up going to see a doctor for a routine check-up. They weighed me and I realized what I feared was true; I had been gaining the weight to which my scale had alluded. Clearly, it was time to cut out everything “bad” that I was eating and head to the gym regularly so I could lose the weight.

Only, it didn’t work out. I remember my first grocery trip after my decision to go on a strict diet. I cleansed myself of everything “unhealthy” immediately. I bought mostly fruits and vegetables, substituted my normal white rice for cauliflower rice, bought almond flour instead of white, completely passed on the pasta, and of course, waved goodbye to anything with an ounce of added sugar in it.

But, as I mentioned earlier, it didn’t work out. To make matters worse, I wasn’t even losing weight during this time. My “diet” lasted about a month and then, I quickly relapsed. I had everything sugary, I overate (even when I was full), I had all the fattening foods, and not one day did I take a step towards the gym.

My turnaround came a few months later. I realized that I didn’t have to be at either side of the fence, I could embrace both. The thing about dieting is that it's not sustainable and, to put it simply, it’s not fun. Your healthy lifestyle shouldn’t consist of you torturing yourself with foods you don’t like simply to shed a few pounds. Moderation of the foods you already enjoy is key.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight. If that is your goal, weight loss happens when the number of calories you burn is greater than the amount you intake in your eating. So, definitely cut back on some calories and be sure to stay active and you’ll lose the weight in no time. But, cutting back on calories doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some comfort food every once in a while.

After visiting a dietician, I learned that it’s important to take in enough healthy protein, fats, and carbs each day. Your body needs each of those food groups to sustain itself. Deprive it of one, and things begin to go awry. So, if you want to lose weight, that’s fine. Just make sure that you eat enough overall and that you have food from each of the groups I mentioned. Empty calories such as cookies, cupcakes, chips, etc. should not make up the majority of the food you consume. Although you cannot over do it on these foods, that definitely doesn’t mean you can’t eat them at all. Have them in moderation!

Personally, I began to lose weight when I stopped trying so hard. I lost about 17 lbs in one year. As a bonus, the extreme fatigue I experienced ended as well. I felt so much healthier overall. Healthy eating became a part of my lifestyle and fruits and vegetables, healthy grains, and other superfoods simply became my norm. And, I still had a cupcake every now and then.

So take it from me, dieting isn’t worth it. It may actually do more harm than good. If you desire a change in your body, focus on the number of calories you burn and consume. You should still make sure you’re eating enough food in a day. Don’t cut out a ton of calories because you want to lose a lot of weight fast. Let it happen in a reasonable amount of time.

One last thing, your body is beautiful as it is right now. It’s okay to desire change but first embrace the beauty in front of you. If you do lose the weight and you don’t truly love yourself to begin with, you won’t love yourself much more when you’re thinner. Nourish your body with the good things that God created, don’t deprive it just to hit a number on the scale.